[G-d] saved [Israel] from [the] hands [of the Yevanim] and rescued [Israel] from them, and the Hasmonean high priests became victorious and killed [the Yevanim] and saved Israel from them and installed a king from [among] the priests and returned to Israel a[n autonomous] kingdom for more than two hundred years until the second destruction.

(My own translation)

This is significant because, despite the fact that they were not Davidic kings, the fact that there was Jewish independence for over 200 years prevented the loss of Jewish identity and probably secured the Jewish religious observance that has subsequently survived to today.